Arctic Light

It's already Christmas for a number of people on my flist, and Alaska is pretty much behind everywhere else as far as time zones are concerned, so a very Happy Christmas to all of you who celebrate it. :) I'm not working today, and not going anywhere, and don't have any family in town -- so I'm just mellow and happy at home, poking at the Yuletide letters and wondering if I can muster up a Treat or two before the archive goes live, and wishing that the Ben January books were a TV series because I keep coming up with songs that I want to vid them to.

Oh! And the last couple of weeks have been hectic enough that I completely forgot to rec the story that was written for me in sga_santa:

Remembrance - Missions gone wrong, team friendship, and a twisty plot (I love those!). Thank you again, Secret Santa. :D

While we're all (well, some of us are) waiting for the Yuletide archive to open, I have a few holiday & solstice videos to link to!

Time-lapse of Fairbanks on the winter solstice, looking south from the University of Alaska Fairbanks hill:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXxRcXHI_tI

As a counterpoint to that, here's a time-lapse of downtown Fairbanks during the 24 hours (or so) of the summer solstice. OH SUMMER, I REMEMBER YOU! COME BACK!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QewZYUbmTJA

I love the light in Fairbanks. In winter, it's pink and gold; in summer it's a mellow sort of golden. (The winter solstice video makes it look a bit darker than it actually is. Generally we get a sort of gentle, pink sunset light at midday in December and January.)

Here's a link to a rather adorable video that a class of 5th-graders in one of the rural Alaskan villages made for Christmas:
http://newsminer.com/view/full_story/10752688/article-Yup-ik-village-of-Quinhagak-has-hit-on-YouTube
(or direct to the video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyviyF-N23A)

*goes back to refreshing isityuletideyet.com*